بحث

Women’s participation in the public domain represented a real dilemma for the Egyptian authorities as it symbolizes the prolongation (perpetuation) of the wave of change and its richness, and throughout successive periods of time, the Egyptian Authorities attempted to alienate women and exclude their involvement from the process of change, furthermore the retrogressive cultural structure and its hostility toward women’s participation in the public field formed a fertile soil to their repression and confinement within their limited and basic social unit; the institution of family – the nuclear family. However, those authoritarianism methods which attempted to thrust women away from the struggle for change were futile, specially that women are the most affected by the crisis altogether, which the Egyptian society is witnessing nowadays due to the structural adjustment, the sacristy of job opportunities, the upsurge in rates of women supporting their families, and the prevalence of poverty have compelled women to partake in the social movement, especially with the soar of the deteriorating conditions in slums, the degradation of female farmers working conditions, the disintegration of the industrial and agricultural sectors and women exposure to draconian circumstances. Therefore, it was no surprise the term Feminization of Poverty was coined, to express the rise of the nexus between poverty and social gender.

Prior 25th January Revolution

The Egyptian women participated in the political movement prior 25th January revolution, and they were one of its unique characteristics: the vast female participation; as the calls for change attracted large segments, among them were women, and the first encounter of thousands of high school and university female students with the political movements was at the commencement of activities in solidarity with the second Palestinian Intifada.

“Hundreds of female students, young women, and adult women stood behind bars and they were subject to different form of violence, even minors, nothing but the demonstration”

Throughout the five years preceding the outbreak of the Arab uprising in 2011, women formed an essential part of the social movement, which was shaped from the organized mass movements to seize rights or achieve economical gains, or repel perils surrounding the community or sector of the population (like displacement, forced eviction, thwart the liquidation of industrial facilities).

So we can say that women’s participation in preparation of the revolution is an undeniable fact, which is represented in their involvement in movements prior to the revolution, in which she lead the front lines in the protests shaping the scene of the social movement, whether it was at the universities, the factories, or among poverty belts where slogans were raised calling for improved services.

The authority sought to denigrate women, to pressure them, and إقرأ المزيد ←